Well, the warranty company was good about it this morning when I called them. I told them my story and that I had purchased a new tire online and that it will be coming tomorrow. They told me just to take the tire to my nearest Pep Boys along with my contract and they will get authorization over the phone... then install the tire at no additional cost... then I can fax in the receipt for the new tire and they will send me a check.
There are different tire warranty plans. I found this out in August when my tire went flat. When I called the Smart roadside number they said tires were not covered by them and gave me another phone number to call. I spoke with these people and they told me about taking it to a tire center and they gave me several choices. They did not say anything about towing. When I asked I was told it was not covered. The next day I called the Smart center and they told me to bring the car in and they would replace the tire. I then found out the tire warranty I had did include towing and it was a different number to call. So if you purchased the Tire Warranty find out which level you purchased and call that number, otherwise you will get real frustrated like I did. By the way the compressor thing and bottle of goop work well.
Just as an option, you might want to consider Ultraseal, a pre-flat sealant used by the US Postal Service, to reduce potential problems. It won't work on the most severe problems, but it will work on most all punctures up to 1/4" diameter.
Discussions on this forum in the past have said that pre-flat sealants gum-up the tire pressure sensors. To prove that theory, I loaded 8 oz of sealant into each front tire and 10 oz of sealant to the rear tires. I put the sealant in about 1000 miles into my ownership of my 2008. I'm now at 5500 miles with no problems. Once every one to two months, I release air pressure from one of my tires. Within a few miles of driving, the low pressure symbol lights up on the dash. I then refill the tire with proper air pressure and the light goes out. I have done this with all four tires in the last 4000 miles and have experienced no gum-up problems with any of the four sensors, sometimes delaying the refill of air for two weeks. I will continue to monitor and post results.
I mention this so that folks might at least consider an option that could avoid pulling over to the side of the road, pumping post-flat sealant in, then using the compressor to refill the tire. There are other pre-flat sealants out there, such as Ride-on. If anyone has attempted to put Ride-on in their tires, it would be good to have that input as well.
This is not meant to be a guaranteed "fix" no matter how bad the "blow", but it can save considerable time and effort. It runs $59 for 128 oz, but the smart only uses 36 oz in their standard tires.
If this product, or Ride-On can be proven to work well in the smart tires, it might be worthwhile for smartUSA to consider this type of sealant to further reduce the "having a flat" worries of their owners. Hope this is helpful information.
Okay, I think I've realized something here: there seems to be some confusion with both the OP and JasonCar in post #12.
With the 2/24 factory warranty--or, in addition, if you've purchased the extended warranty--you get roadside assistance. (My dealer also gives you a loaner car for repairs; don't know if that's national.) Roadside assistance is what takes your car from Point A to Point B.
The tire warranty--which is a different warranty--is what will cover the repair/replacement of the tire.
I think what happened is, you guys called the roadside assistance number, and were rightfully told, "We do the transport, nothing else."
I assume (but I may be wrong) that if you took your Smart to a Smart dealer, they would then do the tire repair/replacement under that tire warranty, and if you couldn't get to a Smart dealer and had to have the tire work done elsewhere then you would have to deal with the tire warranty people for reimbursement (which is what appears to be happening in post #11).
Yeah, I'm sure they would do the same for me... if I wasn't 90 mins from the dealer... I can't drive it there with a nail in the sidewall... so I'm stuck.
Sorry. I DO forget that not everybody lives near their smart dealership as I do.
Sorry. I DO forget that not everybody lives near their smart dealership as I do.
Not to hijack this thread, but I'm also amazed at how many people have bought smarts and live hours away from the dealer. I would never buy a new-to-the-country auto from a dealer not nearby, knowing full well that issues might cause the car to have to go home every now and then...
Not to hijack this thread, but I'm also amazed at how many people have bought smarts and live hours away from the dealer. I would never buy a new-to-the-country auto from a dealer not nearby, knowing full well that issues might cause the car to have to go home every now and then...
This is a screaming statement of their popularity in this country. Logically, it makes little sense to buy outside the immediate dealer areas. Emotionally, many would drive a day for service if they could just be one of these first owners. Incredible that we are all a part of these early days. Treasure them.
Are you running the 175 size in front on the narrow wheels or did you change the wheels too?
just wonderin
Hi Kannon,
I did not consider putting the 175's on the front's 4.5" wheels because I felt that the bead would not rest properly against the wheel and a sealing problem could be created...not sure if it would so I just acquired a set of 5.5" wheels from another fellow who changed out all his wheels and I bought his rear wheels from him to mount a new set of 175's on.
The handling test has been verified all summer and the car definitely does handle better both in city and on interstates at 75-80 mph. The next *acid* test will be to see how the smartie steers on slippery roads. I did have the opportunity to drive on slippery roads last Winter with the 155's on the front(got the car in Feb) and I did not have any problems in snow up to 6 inches in depth or on slush/ice/sleet....I won't drive in anything more than that---plain and simple....I wait for the plows to clean off the roads or just take a vacation day..... If I have to travel, I'll take the wife's Acura with Nokian's all around....those will get me anywhere I need to go.
OK... semi-final chapter on this incident. I ordered the tire from thetirerack and it arrived the next day... very, very nice! (Incidentally, Pep Boys told me they could have ordered the tire for $132... I got it delivered for $92.) I drove the Smart to Pep Boys as instructed by the Smart tire and wheel warranty company. They did the install for $21.25 including tax. They got on the phone with the warranty company for payment... and 30 mins later I was still sitting there waiting for the repair guy and the warranty company to get it together.... they finally did. I didn't have to pay anything and I was given a fax number to send my receipt to for the tire purchase and was told they would get a check out to me for $92 in 1-2 weeks.
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If I have to travel, I'll take the wife's Acura with Nokian's all around....those will get me anywhere I need to go.
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